Chapter 136 CHAPTER 136
My heart rate kicked into overdrive as I stepped down from the small steps and headed into the garden Rowland was struggling to keep alive.
They weren't just small rocks littering the area, these were tiny shards of the mountains I'd climbed, walked on and seen back in Drakkonia.
“Do you know what it is?” Rowland asked, standing back as if the rocks would suddenly develop feet.
They might as well do, this made zero sense.
“Yes. Please get Zade. He can walk now and he needs to see this.”
He was all too happy to run inside.
I think we've finished the man's kindness for the next year or five but he's too scared to admit it.
Without the police on our tail after Baldwin had dealt us that heavy blow, the grounds settled and he's left with the reality check.
He's asked me if I'm an alien and I shook my head no without going into details and now, proof of the existence of another dimension was showing up in his backyard.
If we're not ready to involve him in it, it's the perfect time to pack up and leave.
But where would we go?
The library was out of the question, my Momma's house was filled with booby traps waiting to catch us and although the money I got from selling the gold would last us a month in a motel, what next is the question hanging over my head.
“Whoa, how did that get there?”
“That's what I was wondering man. I've been watering that garden for ages.”
“Don't worry, they'll grow now, you now have magic in your backyard,” Zade patted the other man's back and slowly headed towards me, the pain he was feeling still evident in his steps.
He crouched near me and palmed the stone. One advantage was the heat it brought, I wanted just to get naked and lie down on the surface for another week.
“You know what this means Sunshine?”
“What is it?”
“We've ruined something and the only way to repair it is to go back.”
My eyes ran to him in disbelief.
“You're tired of me already?”
“Oh don't be like that. This isn't about us, this is about the universe. What do you think will happen when the two worlds merge?”
“It's fine, you're right. But there's no need for both of us to go back. I've lived on this planet for decades before and nothing happened so you're clearly the problem. You can go back. Just teach me how to use the book, I only know how to transport myself.”
“I'm not leaving here without you,” he growled.
“Then grab a seat and be comfortable, I'm not going anywhere!”
I stumble back in the house, hurt, pain and regret swallowing me.
I should have left on my own, I shouldn't have dragged him into my shit.
Now he's broken, not physically anymore but it's clear he'd been thinking of this as a vacation and all my stories of how dangerous Earth is faded in his ears.
Now that a little bit of reality, he wants me to go back.
To a planet that I'm hunted, unwanted and one where two of the men I ache for don't want me.
Add the fact that my parents are traitors to the crown and the second the King finds out I'll be toast, you see that I have no business in Drakkonia.
And Zade has no business on Earth.
But I'm not going to make the decision for him, he's seen how difficult it is to be with me and he can either stay or join the other two who rejected me back in Drakkonia.
I'll live and if I don't, my life is getting too complicated and I don't know why I'm holding on so tight.
Nothing about the destiny they keep talking about makes sense to me anyway.
“What are you doing?” He asked from the door.
“We've stretched Rowland's kindness long enough. We're leaving.”
“To where?”
“To somewhere safe enough for you to open a portal. You can go back.”
“Hey, hey, come on baby, look at me,” he turned me to face him even though the movement hurt him. “I mean every word I say Sunshine. I'm not existing in any world that you're not in. I'm just concerned about what is at stake here.”
“And what about me? Who gets to give a fuck about me? About the fact that two worlds are simultaneously rejecting my existence?”
I refused to let the tear fall because I knew there was a waterfall behind it, once one falls, I won't be able to stop the rest.
“Let's go somewhere first, and we'll figure out everything. Maybe this stone appearance thing is a one-time situation and not progressive. We'll take a few days to heal more and then we'll decide.”
I nodded, sniffling hard and breathing through my mouth.
“You're the love of my life and I care about you baby, and both worlds aren't rejecting you. You're just dealing with two idiots who don't know how to back off. Once we get somewhere safe, I'll show you how much you matter to me.”
“Keep that young man away from me,” I poke his chest playfully, unable to stop the smile that touched my face.
He'd not just soothed me, he'd chosen me and now I have some time to figure out what to do.
He helped me to finish parking despite my protests and then Rowland drove us on the three-hour journey to Twin Falls, Idaho; it was a small, agricultural town that had a few motels.
Exactly what we needed to hide. Food will be cheaper and I can easily get a job.
We just have to lie low and figure out how to kill Baldwin.
Or I'll deceive Zade and push him into a portal and then keep running.
If Earth doesn't want him here, I'll let him go.
But as much as I'm meant for Drakkonia, I fear that my return there won't be as pleasant as my first time, and that's saying a lot.
Too many people there wanted me dead there and Baldwin wanted me dead here.
The decision wasn't that hard to make.